Stupid Idea
by Barbie Shoes
Summary: So, when the mother of her child had proposed that Regina come home with them, to come live in their New York apartment where she and Henry could get to know one another and make new memories again, Regina found herself complying just a bit more readily than she had expected. Which is how this whole stupid mess began. — Swan Queen, Ficlet


A/N: _Everyone seems to be feeling down about recent spoilers, and I was getting a little cranky myself, so I decided to write this little idea I had the other night when I was thinking about Emma talking about taking Henry back to NY. Hopefully it can help cheer people up a little bit! I'll post it to FF when I have another chance._

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This was a stupid idea.

Yes, Regina had agreed that Storybrooke was no longer a suitable or safe environment for their son. And yes, she understood that Henry's memories were irretrievable; that he would never again remember their life and times together.

Only his life with Emma.

And as much as that broke her heart, ripping and clawing at the tattered pieces that remained, something about the way that Emma's seemed to break alongside her own had made it all just a tiny bit more bearable. So, when the mother of her child had proposed that Regina come home with them, to come live in their New York apartment where she and Henry could get to know one another and make new memories again, Regina found herself complying just a bit more readily than she had expected.

Which is how this whole stupid mess began.

Because even if Henry hadn't been as bright as he was, there wasn't a thirteen year old boy in the world who wouldn't find it suspicious that the mayor of a small town should want to leave her entire life and her mansion to become "roomies" with some woman she just met and her kid.

So, they lied.

They knew that Henry hated liars, and Regina could tell by her eyes that Emma felt the fraudulence in the pit of her gut just as she did. What choice did they have, though? He was never going to remember, and all they wanted was for him to have a normal life. So, talk of fairy tales, of curses and memory potions – it was out of the question.

But why, oh why, did they choose this lie?

Why, Regina asked herself – not for the first time – had they decided to pretend they were lovers? They most certainly weren't lovers, they'd hardly even been friends. But that was the lie they told him, and Regina told herself the misrepresentation was the only reason the notion made her heart ping.

What was most baffling was when he simply shrugged and said, "I figured."

He said he'd known right away, when Emma brought her to meet him. That he could tell they had history, and that he could tell that Regina knew him. They hadn't intended to imply they were lovers previously as well as currently, but the story seemed to write itself. Former lovers, a woman who had cared for Henry in the years he was too young to recall, forced apart by circumstance and reunited by chance. It was as close to truth as they could get, and for weeks it worked as well as one could hope.

Until Henry grew suspicious.

"Why do you two never do 'couple-y' things?" He asked one day, seated at the counter for breakfast. Both women froze in their bustling about the kitchen, unsure how to respond to the unfortunately correct observation. "Is it because of me?" Henry continued. "Because I'm not a baby, you know. I'm not gonna freak out if you kiss or something."

"We know you're not a baby, dear," Regina said gently, heart pounding for reasons unknown.

"Then go ahead and kiss her," Henry encouraged, trying to feign an air of maturity beyond his years.

"Yeah, Regina," Emma dared, the sparkle in her eye making a volcano erupt in Regina's chest. "Go ahead and kiss me."

But Regina didn't kiss her.

Because this was definitely a joke. Because Emma was obviously teasing or testing her, probably both. So, Regina just stood there and stared, trying to catch her breath and waiting for Emma to find a way to back track them out of this situation.

She did not expect Emma to step closer.

Regina did not expect to feel fingers on her hips, the first welcome contact she'd experienced in so long. She certainly never expected the hot breath ghosting over her mouth to become soft lips pressing against her own in the sweetest way she could have ever imagined. And, while maybe she should have, Regina never expected that a kiss from Emma Swan might reduce her to rubble right there on the kitchen floor.

"Okay, that is actually kind of gross!" Henry finally announced, when the display of affection lasted longer than any of them could have anticipated it might.

The way Emma's eyes still shone as they parted, staring right down into Regina's naked soul, made her feel something strange. Something Regina was sure she couldn't identify, but then, suddenly, she realized. She felt hope.

"Maybe we should plan a date night, then," Emma offered breathlessly, her eyes traveling only between Regina's gaze and the memory of her lips. "Just the two of us?"

Regina's heart grew wings and took off as she nodded her agreement, unable to stop herself from quickly pressing her smile over Emma's once again – to the audible displeasure of their son.

Perhaps this hadn't been such a stupid idea after all.


End file.
